N.C. Research Campus to get Trudeau?

Maybe I'm out of the loop (not that unrealistic), but I had never heard of Trudeau Institute before coming across this article. Nonetheless, it sounds like the thought of this institute having a location in Kannapolis is a big deal.

Are Trudeau Institute officials eyeing a state-of-the-art research campus in North Carolina as a possible site for expansion or relocation?

Village Mayor Clyde Rabideau thinks so.

Rabideau, in a guest commentary published in Friday's Enterprise, said "there's a buzz" that Trudeau will be sending its representatives to take a look the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, N.C.

"Now, like most buzzes, it may or may not be true," Rabideau wrote, "but Trudeau management say they need an urban research hospital environment like Kannapolis to get more federal funding, so it is believable. And, even if it isn't true, Saranac Lakers should still take its measure and gird for battle."

Rabideau told the Enterprise Friday that the tip that Trudeau is looking at the North Carolina site came to him from "a couple reliable sources." He declined to elaborate, although he said he was confident that his information is correct.

"I'd stake my reputation on this," he said. ...

Trudeau officials have recently launched a strategic planning process to study the Institute's options for future growth. Trudeau has hired the New England Consulting Group to evaluate several options, including expansion of the Institute's current facilities, building a new clinical research site out of state or leaving Saranac Lake for a new location. Institute officials have said they want to bring Trudeau scientists closer to a clinical research setting near a hospital or university in order to ensure the Institute remains competitive for federal funds.

The North Carolina Research Campus, built on a former site of a textile mill about 30 miles northeast of Charlotte, offers just that kind of setting. Initially founded by David H. Murdock, the former CEO of Dole Foods, the public-private venture is designed to foster collaboration and advancements in the fields of biotechnology, nutrition and health.

Research programs from seven University of North Carolina campuses as well as Duke University are represented at the campus, which has two newly constructed buildings and will eventually offer more than 1 million square feet of lab and office space. It also has a partnership with Carolinas HealthCare System, which owns a teaching and research hospital in Charlotte, according to the Tribune report.

Rabideau, in his commentary, called the research campus the "Land of Biotech Oz" and describes it as "our most fearsome competitor."